Some families paint the bed-to-bathroom route in a color that sets the walls apart from the floor, so the floor edge shows more clearly at night. Whether that helps her is a question for her physician or therapist. If they agree it is worth trying, the bid is the next thing to check, and the paint is usually not what moves it.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

What drives the bill

The total follows the work, not the can. Count the wall area from the bed to the bathroom door, then add any doors, trim, and ceiling line the painter will touch. Surface condition sets the prep: patching holes, sanding, and a primer coat cost more than a fresh coat on sound walls. Moving the bed, dressers, and the bathroom rug takes labor, and a bid that says nothing about moving is likely to leave that to you or charge for it later. Sheen matters too. A washable finish suits a bathroom wall, while a flat finish in a hallway may need a second coat sooner.

Ask for the bid in the same shape

Get at least two bids that cover the same walls. Ask each painter whether the price is by room, by wall area, or by the hour, and what the prep line includes. Ask who moves the furniture and who covers it. Ask what is excluded, such as the ceiling, the closet, or the trim. A low number that leaves out prep often becomes a higher number on the first day.

Check the floor edge line

If the plan is a contrast strip where the wall meets the floor, ask the painter to tape the line and show you the color on a small test patch in the hallway light you use at night. Test it in the dark too, with the night light on, since a color that looks clear by day can blur after dark. Do not let the strip stand in for a lamp or a clear path.

Write it down

Note the wall area, the rooms included, the prep scope, who moves furniture, the sheen, and the color name and code. Keep the bids and the test patch notes with the house papers so a later touch-up matches the first coat.